Dealing with the fallout of COVID-19 has challenged IT departments (along with every other industry across the globe) in many ways. While many types of businesses have shut down partially, like restaurants and retail, or fully, such as bars, barbershops, beauty shops, and professional sports, the IT world simply shifted from “work at work” to “work from home.” Although we’ve possessed the tools to work from home for several years, they were primarily only used by people who needed to stay home due to extenuating circumstances.
We were not prepared for our own entire company to work from home, and as a result have faced a challenging adjustment period since stay-at-home orders were handed down. I participate in a lot of virtual meetings these days and have experienced some that some run smoothly and others that feel disjointed and stilted. However, as a company, we are getting better at completing IT projects while separated, which is a skill that will likely still need to be leveraged even once this pandemic passes.
Work Environments in a Post-COVID World
As we weather the storm of COVID-19 and phase back into a full return to work, it’s important to remember that our habits and locations will be forever changed as a result of this challenging time. Instead of delaying meetings until a conference room opens up and then crowding everyone in, project team members might just attend a video chat from their desk. We will lose some personal connection, but we will also keep projects moving.
More allowances and expectations will likely be made for employees needing to work from home without the concern about loss of productivity. Informal video chats between small groups will be more common to connect those who are working remotely. Smaller companies and startups may find that there is no need for everyone to be in the same office on a regular basis. Instead, they might only have a small office for corporate leaders and a small conference room to host investors. Large companies that are used to “co-locating” project teams might shift to simple video chats from their desks. effectively eliminating all of the cost and disruption associated with moving people around. Growing companies may elect to allow more work from home options rather than leasing additional office space, resulting in an increase in unused office space and downward pressure on rents.
The Future of IT Flexibility
The lessons we learned on how to stay connected while working remotely will be leveraged to allow more flexibility in project staffing—including the use of outside consultants and temporary IT staffing. Adding a temporary IT consultant would be easy in a “work from home” infrastructure with no need to find office space. Everyone on the team is already used to video meetings, so you can just add the new person to the group and carry on.
Software testing is an ideal resource to add to a “work from home” team. All major apps today are internet-enabled, meaning they can be tested from anywhere, not just a company's building. Testers can test at any time and attend brief video chats with developers or project leadership to discuss and demonstrate defects. Testers can screen share with developers to show the defect in real-time—which is valuable information for a developer and is much more useful than screenshots.
As you adjust to the new normal, keep in mind that adding additional software testing is easier with the work from home infrastructure you have been working on building during this time. If you find you need additional resources now or when you begin to shift back to normalcy, Stonemill is standing by.
For more information, contact an expert at Stonemill Consulting today.
